Picasso, Pablo (1881-1973)
Les femmes d’Alger, d’après Delacroix (The Women of Algiers, after Delacroix)
1954
Oil on canvas, 65.1 x 72.7 cm
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford
Between December 1954 and February 1955, Picasso painted fifteen canvases inspired by Eugène Delacroix‘s famous painting of 1834, “The Algerian Women,” then in the Louvre. This was the first of several series in which Picasso sought to match his talents against those of an admired old master. Each of the fifteen canvases was given a letter designation from A–O. This one, painted on December 13th and inscribed with a “B,” is the second of the series. Picasso was extremely free in his reinterpretation of Delacroix’s theme, but the evocative contours of slumbering female forms is evident in the brilliantly colored interior which also owes something to the influence of Picasso‘s contemporary Henri Matisse. (WA)
Compare:
Delacroix, Eugène (1798-1863)
Femmes d’Alger dans leur appartement
1834
Musée du Louvre, Paris
Fantin-Latour, Henri (1836-1904)
Copie d’après les Femmes d’Alger d’Eugène Delacroix
1876
Musée du Louvre, Paris
See also:
• Algiers (Algeria) | Delacroix, Eugène (1798-1863)